Rotary engine.



PATENTED SEPT. 24, 1907. A. H. OLSON & G. B. NYBERG.

ROTARY ENGINE.

nrmoxnon mm) JULY 16. 1901.

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W1 TNESSES M%WW .No. 866,677. PATENTED SEPT. 24, 1907. A. H- OLSON & G.B. NYBBRG.

ROTARY ENGINE. nrmomxox FILED JULY 16. 1907.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W1 TNESSES summon a c No. 866,677. PATENTED SEPT. 24, 1907. A. H. OLSON6: c. B. NYBERG,

ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLICATION rmm JULY 1a. 1901.

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ROTARY ENGINE. V uruonxo'n FILED JULY 16. 901.

6W 1% v Fun-MM Afforneys WITNESSES:

PATENTED SEPT. 24, 1907] A. n. OLSON & c. B. NYBBRG.

ROTARY ENGINE. APPLIUATION FILED JULYIB, 1901.

W I INVENTORS A WITNESSES UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALEX H. OLSON AND CARL E. NYBERG, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ROTARY ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 24, 1907.

Application filed July 16, 1907. Serial No. 384,086.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ALEX H. OLSON and CARL E. NYBERG, subjects of theKing of Sweden, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in RotaryEngines, of which the. following is a s pecification.

This invention relates to rotary engines, and particularly to that classthereof having radially slidable abutments which project into or acrossthe steam space in the cylinder, and which are caused to retreattherefrom as the piston passes.

In the present engine the steam is admitted to one side of the pistonand exhausted from the other by means of ports leading from a hollowshaft or shaft sections, in communication at opposite ends with theinlet and exhaust passages respectively. The engine will run equallywell in either direction and may be readily reversed. It has no deadcenter and can be started from any position, and an especial feature isthat the piston is at all times in receipt of the full pressure of thesteam, even as it is passing the abutments. A pair of opposite abutmentsare used, one of which is always closed, and means are provided toexhaust the steam from both sides of the abutment which is ahead of thepiston, or toward which the piston is traveling, so that the abutmentwill not bind in the recess in which it moves. Means are also providedto balance the abutments by steam pressure, so that they can be easilymoved. The abutments are operated by means of a cam, with improveddevices for transmitting the motion from the cam thereto. Improvedpacking means are also provided in connection with the piston and othermoving parts of the engine, as well as novel means for admitting andexhausting the steam through the shaft sections.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, in which Figure l is a front elevation of the engine. Fig. 2 isan end elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section with the upperhalf of the cylinder removed. Fig. 4 is a section on the line 44 of Fig.2, the throttle or controlling valve, however, being in open positioninstead of in closed position, as in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a section on theline 5-5 of Fig. 4 with said valve, however, in closed position, and thepiston in different position. Fig. 6 is a detail in perspective of aspacing cage or device in the shaft bearings. Figs. 7 and 8 are detailsof a packing ring. Fig. 9 is a detail of a connection in the abutmentoperating devices. Fig. 10 is a face view of the cam, much reduced insize.

Referring specifically to the drawings, 6 indicates the cylinder, formedin upper and lower halves bolted together, and the end walls 7 of thecylinder are in clined or converge toward the periphery, as clearlyappears in Fig. 4. There is advantage in this with respect to making thepiston steam tight, as hereinafter explained. The cylinder is mountedupon a base 8.

Rotatable within the cylinder is a hub 9, carrying a piston 10, fastenedto a truncated part of the hub by bolts 11. This hub is fast upon shaftsections 12 and 13, the inner ends or parts of which within the drum arehollow, being separated or closed at said ends by a solid part orpartition 14 of the hub. The opposite ends of the hub are counterbored,to receive the inner annular bearing parts or sleeves 15 on which thehub rotates, a bushing 16 being interposed at the bearing to stand thewear. The inner surface of the casing is also in bearing contact withthe outer surface of the drum, or with rings 17 at the end thereof, sothat the weight and throw of the drum and piston are not supported bythe shaft, but by the cylinder casing or the journal pieces at the endthereof, as referred to. Said journal pieces or parts, indicated at 18,are of comparatively heavy construction, and are firmly fixed to theends of the cylinder by screws as indicated at 19. Each piece isrecessed internally to form an annular steam chamber 20 which extendsaround the shaft section and which is provided with a steam passage 21cored in an upwardly extending part 22 thereof and communicating througha passage 23 in the cylinder head with a pipe 24 leading to or from thecasing of the c011t1'0lling valve 25 located on top of the cylinder.

Each shaft section has a series of holes 26 opening through between thehollow of the shaft'and the steam chamber 20, and these holes arearranged in rows around the shaft so as to give a free and unobstructedway or passage. And said hollow shaft sections also communicate throughlarge passages 40 with the interior or chamber of the cylinder, onopposite sides of the piston 10 and as close as convenient thereto. Saidpassages 40 extend through the shaft sections and the drum and formrespectively inlet and exhaust passages according to the direction ofrotation.

The valve 25 is a four-way reversing valve and has the proper ports toopen communication between one pipe 24 and the supply pipe 27 from theboiler, and the other pipe 24 and the exhaust pipe 28. This valve isoperated by a handle 29 working in front of a bracket 30 which has stops31 at the limit of movement both ways. In the middle position, as shownin Figs. 1, 2 and 5, the valve is closed, but it may be opened eitherway by throwing the handle one way or the other, to drive the engine ineither direction. The valve is shown open in Fig. 4.

The abutments 32 are arranged horizontally on op-' posite sides of thecylinder and slide back and forth into and out of the recesses 33 as thepiston turns, said recesses being formed between flanges 34 on thecylinder sections. The abutments 32 are tapered, or their upper andlower sides converge so that they are thinner at the edges adjacent thehub than they are at the opposite edges, and accordingly they workcomparatively loose in their recesses, particularly when they are inretracted position, but when they are advanced their rear or wider edgeshave a snug fit with the wall of the cylinder at the recess. Theabutments are connected to and operated by sleeves 35 which slide onguide rods 36 which are set at their inner ends in the wall of thecylinder and supported at their outer ends by brackets 37 projectingfrom the lower half of the cylinder casting. At their outer ends thesleeves 35 have arms 38 connected by rods 39 to pins 41 at the upperends of rockers 42 which are carried by rock shafts 43 supported onbearings 44 on the base of the engine, said rock shafts extending acrossunder the cylinder on opposite sides of the base. Said rods 39 are rightand left hand threaded to the end parts, for adjustment, as shown inFig. 3. The shaft section 13, at one end of the engine, carries a disk45 which has a cam groove 46 in which travel rollers 47 on the ends ofthe adjacent pins 41, and the rotation of the cam operates the rockersand produces the reciprocation of the abutments, the parts beingproperly shaped or timed to retract the abutments to allow the piston topass, as will be understood. The face of the cam has a shield 48 slottedto agree with the groove, the purpose of the shield being to retain oilin the cam groove.

On opposite sides of the piston 10 the drum 9 is cut away or recessed asindicated at 49, said recesses extending substantially half way roundthe drum; that is, the ends of the recesses are at diametricallyopposite points equidistant from the piston. The abutments 32 havepassages 50 extending acrosswise therethrough, and in certain positionsthese passages coinmunicate with the recesses 49 and also with therecesses 33 behind the abutments. Said recesses 49 also establishcommunication between the chambers on opposite sides of the abutments32, at times during the rotation of the piston; and the passages 40 openinto the recesses 49.. New by virtue of this construction, the pressureon opposite sides of the abutments 32, particularly during the movementof said abutments, is at all times equal. Take, for example, the exhaustside of the cylinder, as shown in Fig. 5, the

' piston traveling in the direction of the arrow adjacent thereto, whenthe end of the recess 49 passes the abutment 32 communication betweenthe space above the abutment and the space below the abutment will beestablished through the recess 49, thereby equalizing the pressure onboth sides of the abutment and allowing the free exhaust from both sidesthereof through the exhaust passage 40. At this time, the oppositeabutment is closed, remaining closed until after the piston passes theopposite or lower center line. In the inlet side of the cylinder, beforethe piston has reached the upper central position, a similar action hastaken place. That is, steam entering the inlet passage 40 passes throughthe recess 49 into the chambers on both sides of the abutment 32 at theleft hand side of the cylinder as shown in said Fig. 5, and consequentlythe said abutment 32 is balanced, the abutment 32 on the right hand sidebeing at that time in closed position, so that the live steam fills thelower half of the cylinder between the abutments and also the segmentalportion of the cylinder between the time rising through the last quarterof the chamber toward the vertical position, and as soon as the end ofthe recess 49 on the left hand side passes the abutment 32 the recess 49on the right hand side of the drum opens into the lower half of thechamber and allows the steam therein to exhaust as heretofore described.In consequence of this construction there is no dead point, because whenthe piston is passing one abutment it has live steam behind it, confinedby the other abutment which is then closed and which remains closeduntil the opposite abutment becomes completely closed and takes thepressure. There is thus a continuous pressure on the piston in allpositions thereof and said pressure remains constant, or identical withthe boiler pressure, in all positions of the piston. The flow beingcontinuous there is no necessity for any operating valve, other than thethrottle and reversing valve.

In order to compensate for wear and to take up any lost motion in theconnection between the abutments and the rockers the connecting rods 39,as shown in Fig. 9, have yokes 39V at the end, which are loose, orslidable lengthwise with respect to the rod, to a limited extent, ascontrolled by the keys 39 which have springs 39, said keys and springsextending through mortises in the ends of the rods. This allows a slightyield of the abutments with respect to the operating devices, giving aclose contact of the abutments against the hub or drum 9 when theabutments are advanced. The edges of the piston at the ends thereof areinclined to fit the inclination of the end walls 7 of the cylinder, andsaid piston is packed by means of continuous strips 51 each of which ismade in one piece extending along the side and ends of the piston andfastened to the packing rings 52. The absence of any joint in the stripat the corner of the piston effectually prevents leak of the steam pastthe piston, and the strips being pressed out by the packing rings willclose as well against the end walls 7 of the cylinder as against thebody walls 6 thereof, in consequence of the inclined position of saidwalls 7. The hub 9 has a bearing ring 17 at the ends, as heretoforereferred to, and is packed by rings 52 adjacent thereto, which in turnare packed by the stuffing 66, in the hub, and on the inside of thepacking rings, also communicating with the stufl'ing 63, thus preventingthe leakage of steam around the packing rings. These rings 52, as shownin Figs. 7 and 8, are halved and lapped at the ends and also reduced toreceive side pieces 52 which lap the joint and assist in preventing leaktherethrough, one end of the piece being fastened to the rings, as at68.

In order to dispose of any slight leak which may take place between thecylinder and the drum, or which may escape endwise through the packingof the piston, one of the end pieces of the cylinder is tapped by a pipe53 which leads from a slight space at the end of the hub to the exhaustpipe 28, and serves to draw away any leak between the parts, therebyremoving the pressure under the packing-strips and rings, so as toreduce the friction.

As stated before, the end pieces 18 of the cylinder have inwardlyextending cuffs or parts 15 which form the steam spaces around the shaftsections. Each of these cuffs has packing at 54 at the inner end, and atleft hand abutment and the piston, which is at that 55 at the outer end,between which is a spacing cage 56 shown in perspective in Fig. 6, andthe purpose of which is to transmit the pressure from the gland 57 toboth packings, when said gland is tightened. Necessarily the part 56 isin the form of a cage, or with apertures, to let the steam pass throughto or from the holes 26.

The piston 10 has two side plates 10 and two packing strips 51, set sofar apart that one of them passes the recesses 33 before the other hasleft the cylinder walls, thereby preventing the steam from leakingaround the piston as it passes said recesses 33. The middle and the twoside plates of the piston are grooved on both sidesof the packing-stripsto receive stufling as shown at 63. The object of this is to pre ventthe leakage of steam around the packing-strips. The two side plates arefastened to the middle part by bolts 64.

The engine may be provided with a steam gage 58, a lubricator 59delivering to the infiowing steam, for the interior parts of the engine,a lubricator 6O supplying to the cam groove and rollers therein, and aplug 67 to let out the water of condensation. The sleeves 35 are packedat glands 61 and the guide rods 36 are packed at glands 62.

In operation, the steam admitted through either of the pipes 24 willpass through the passage 21, steam chamber 20, holes 26 and passage 40into the space within the cylinder and will drive the pistonaccordingly, the exhaust taking place in reverse direction through theopposite shaft section and the passages at the other end of thecylinder. There is no cessation of the pressure during any part of therotation, and consequently there is no dead point and the engine may berun as slow as desired, much slower than any former engine in which thesteam is admitted at diiferent strokes or at intervals.

I claim:

1. In a rotary engine, the combination with a cylinder having end pieceswith inwardly projecting circular cuffs, of a shaft extending throughsaid ends, a drum on the shaft, bored at the ends to receive said cuffsand bearing on the outer sides thereof, and a piston carried by thedrum.

2. In a rotary engine, the combination with a cylinder having bearingsat the ends, and end pieces with inwardly projecting circular cuffs, ofa shaft extending through said cults, a drum on the shaft, bored toreceive said cuffs and having rims at the ends projecting between saidcuffs and the said end bearings of the cylinder, and a piston carried onthe drum.

3. In a rotary engine, the combination of a cylinder the ends of whichhave cufis with steam chambers therein, a hollow shaft extending throughsaid cuffs and having openings communicating with said chambers and withthe space within the cylinder, packing rings between the cuifs and theshaft at the inner and outer ends of the former, spacing cagessurrounding the shaft in said steam chambers and between the rings, andglands bearing against the outer packing rings.

4. In a rotary engine, the combination of a cylinder having oppositeradial recesses in its Wall, abntments slidable radially in saidrecesses, a shaft and drum in the cylinder having axial steam passagesopening into the cylinder, and a piston carried by the drum, the drumbeing recessed on opposite sides of the piston to open a passage betweenthe cylinder spaces on opposite sides of the abutments alternately, andthe abutments having steam passages extending crosswise therethrough, toconnect the recesses in the cylinder walls with the recesses in the drumand balance the abutments.

5. In a rotary engine, the combination of a cylinder having a radialrecess in its wall, an abutment slidable in said recess and taperedtoward the front edge to admit steam into the recess on both sidesthereof, and a shaft and piston rotatable in the cylinder.

6. In a rotary engine, the combination of a cylinder having a radialrecess in its Wall, an abutment slidable in said recess and havingpassages extending crosswise therethrough, to admit steam into therecess behind the abutment, and a shaft and piston rotatable in thecylinder.

7. In a rotary engine, the combination of a cylinder, a rotary drum andpiston therein, packing rings and strips between the cylinder and saiddrum and piston, and a pipe for leak, communicating with the spacesbehind said rings and strips, and leading to the exhaust pipe of theengine.

8. In a rotary engine, the combination of a cylinder, a rotary drum andpiston having bearings therein, and a pipe for leak, communicating withthe bearings and leading to the exhaust pipe of the engine.

9. In a rotary engine, the combination of a cylinder having a radialrecess in its wall, guide rods projecting through said wall at oppositeends of the recess, an abutment slidable on the guide rods in therecess, sleeves connected to the abutment and slidable on the rods andthrough the cylinder wall, and means connected to the sleeves to operatethe abutments.

10. In a rotary engine, the combination of a cylinder having a radialrecess in its wall, guide rods extending across said recess at oppositeends thereof, an abutment slidable on the guide rods in the recess andspaced from the opposite side walls of the recess, and means to operatesaid abutment.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures, in presence of twoWitnesses.

ALEX H. OLSON. CARL E. NYBERG. Witnesses FLORENCE HENDERSON, H. G.BATCHELOR.

